A 2023 report has revealed that cybercriminals successfully stole around $2 billion in cryptocurrencies through various cyberattacks.
According to the report by De.FI, the security firm overseeing the REKT database, this year underscores the existing vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrency space and the ongoing efforts being undertaken to mitigate these risks.
“This amount, though dispersed across various incidents, underscores the persistent vulnerabilities and challenges within the DeFi ecosystem. 2023 stood as a testament to the ongoing vulnerabilities and the strides made in addressing them, even as interest in the space was relatively muted by the ongoing bear market in the first half of the year,” De.FI stated in the report.
The 2023 figures for stolen cryptocurrency indicate a decrease compared to the 2022 record, which saw approximately $3.8 billion in crypto thefts.
Notable cryptocurrency heists in 2023, as highlighted in the report, include a significant hack against Euler Finance resulting in a nearly $200 million loss. Other notable attacks targeted Multichain ($126 million), BonqDAO ($120 million), Poloniex ($114 million), and Atomic Wallet ($100 million), among others.
These findings align with a separate report from TRM Labs, which indicated that around $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency had been stolen by mid-December 2023. TRM Labs pointed out that, even accounting for potential further hacks in December, the total for 2023 is expected to be significantly less than the figure for 2022, which was close to $4 billion. The previous year’s total included major thefts, such as the over $600 million attack on the Ronin Bridge, a blockchain network associated with the Axie Infinity game.